Danny Glover Breaks Down The South Africa-Cuba Connection

The world may be abuzz over President Barack Obama’s decision to shake the hand of Cuban leader Raul Castro at the memorial service for Nelson Mandela, but the late South African president most certainly would have approved.

“Most of us know about the audio clip when Mandela at his inauguration met Castro and pushed away his hand,” Glover recalled, “and grabbed him and held him — it’s clear to him and most of the audience — he said Castro, ‘Without you, this doesn’t happen.’”

Cuban troops helped to keep South Africans from derailing Namibian independence, Glover continued. ”People who followed that, moment to moment, from 1975 through that period of time that ended up with the independence of Namibia, understood clearly the role that Cuban troops had played.”

Glover shared additional insights on the linked histories of South Africa and Cuba, in the clip below.